Hero Rising
by Kuann
Summary: Centuries have passed since the slaying of Ganondorf and the sealing of the Twilight Realm. The lessons of history forgotten, the royal family of Hyrule has fallen blind to the needs of its people; yet one band of thieves seeks to show the royal princess the truth, daring to believe that she may see it. Time is shorter, however, than they imagined, for a great storm is brewing.


**Hero Rising**

**Chapter 1 - Ambush**

The young princess watched the terracotta mesas of Kakariko Valley pass into and out of the window frame. She knew the road outside, meandering as it did across one of the region's jagged cliffsides, was rough and even treacherous, but the vehicle's flexible Hylian make gave a sensation of floating across the ground. She could almost sleep in here, even beside a three hundred foot drop to the river below. She felt utterly sheltered, as if surrounded by Nayru's magic.

"I sometimes wonder where your mind floats off to, Princess," said Eldrich. The Hylian guard captain had a fatherly appearance, sporting a short gray beard and equally faded hair that was combed to perfection. Beside him were two more of her defenders, a man and a woman; they, however, had no eyes for her, and stared outside constantly. It was a tension she was accustomed to, but Eldrich's easygoing presence always softened the others' sharp, impersonal vigilance.

_It would be easy, I suppose, to be at ease when dozens of men and women serve as your eyes and ears. I know that I am._

"Do you remember the tales you would tell to the servants, when you were young?" he continued fondly. "Your additions to the myths of the goddesses were most… exciting."

She smiled at the memories; she still recalled the stories of brave heroes and demonic boar gods, of mystical relics and fairies and hordes of beasts. Some were handed down by the royal tutors; others, her own fantastic invention.

"How could I forget them?" she asked with a faint smile of reminiscence. "Though I must say you humored me, Eldrich. What half-brained fantasies they were…"

"The simplest of your thoughts would take hours of work from Hyrule's greatest poets, Princess," Eldrich responded graciously. "Your precociousness was evident at an early time of your life."

She accepted the compliment with a blushing smile. "You are too kind, I am hardly the wisest in Hyrule."

He smirked back at her. "I wouldn't be so sure of that."

She shook her head disbelievingly, staring out the window once again. "If that assurance makes you prouder of your charge, Sir Eldrich," she responded mockingly, yet playfully. "Then you may believe what you like."

* * *

"Is that them... My name's not stupid, dumbo! And I just wanted to make sure!"

Cariska shot Lim a look that silenced him. The boy's muttering calmed, and she returned her eyes to Sirian's target. The carriage was not quite as elegant as he had imagined, beautiful as it was. Blue panels, adorned with golden metal lining, made up the flower-bud shaped chassis; two white horses with haunches as thick as her torso pulled it along the rocky Kakariko roadway, with a coachman directing them constantly. She knew he needed to concentrate; horses never fared well on these paths.

Behind the royal carriage was a formidable procession of guards – at least thirty, by what she could see. They too rode horses, though the narrow ledge had forced them to dismount and guide the animals by hand.

"Lim, tell your brother that the procession has been choked by the path, just as Sirian had hoped. The guards have horses, but they're dismounted. They should be ready to spring the trap when we planned."

Lim nodded, squeezing his eyes shut before whispering madly, his eyes shut. Cariska knocked an arrow and trained her gaze on the window of the carriage. The princess's golden hair was visible even from her perch among the rocks.

_Let us hope you sit still._

* * *

"Cariska says that there are guards, but that they're dismounted. We should be ready to spring the trap."

Link nodded to Bim, though the urge to peer around the pillar of rock behind which they crouched remained. He trusted the twins – to a degree. One never knew when twelve-year-olds found to be a good time for pranks.

He could hear the procession approaching now – Sirian's tip had been good. Then again, they always were. The trundling of the carriage, the clanking footsteps of the soldiers, even the panting of the horses – everything reached his pointed ears. Anything that didn't was relayed by Bim's twin, and Cariska's eyes.

_A fine team_, he thought. _We should be proud of ourselves, what we've built together…_

They _should_ have been. Lately, however, he hadn't been feeling as proud as he should have.

"Um… Link?" Bim's voice cut through his concentration. Its nervous innocence drew his attention like a moth to flame. "Are you sure the fuse on these things will last long enough for us to get away?"

Link smirked at the young one, taking the flint and steel lying between them. "Only one way to find out, isn't there?"

Sparks flew before Bim could reply, igniting the fuse of the pile of items between them –premium grade bombs, courtesy of a shipment they had intercepted last week. Bim's eyes went wide with surprise and panic; as Link hustled away from the soon-to-detonate device, he swore he had never seen someone so small move so fast.

* * *

The princess practically yelped at the thunderous boom that ripped through the air. She felt her flesh vibrate; dust that had been sitting on the carriage windowsill flew up in a single, driven swirl. The guards had their hands on their weapons before she had even regained her senses.

Eldrich leaned forward to look out the window, swearing at whatever he saw. Soon there was another great noise, this time like the grinding of millstones behind them. Amidst the ringing in her ears, the princess heard the desperate whinny of the horses. She braced herself for the inevitable jolt; she had been around horses all her life. The carriage shuddered as the animals bolted forward, uncontrollable in their panic. The guards were in disarray, but Eldrich had managed to stay on-balance, wedging his knee into the carriage window. "Let them run!" he roared to the driver. "We've been cut off from the others! We must protect the princess!"

* * *

Sirian closed his eyes.

_Three… two… one…_

_BOOM!_

The sound of the bombs sent a thrill through his body. He had waited so long for a chance like this. So much meticulous planning had gone into everything; now they merely had to be as good as they always were.

Calmly, solemnly, like a healer about to make an incision, he tightened the cloth wraps around his hands. The darts were already placed in his belt. The two curved blades of his swords – the prize of a high-ranking Hylian noble – slid silently and smoothly into the scabbards strapped tightly to his back. He took the light chain his people so often employed into his hand. He had trained a lifetime for this.

_Let us see, Princess, how much your father loves you._


End file.
